The present invention relates to a device for mounting an accessory to a motor vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a device, and a kit of parts for a device that, when assembled together and mounted on the front of a motor vehicle, facilitates the attachment of a useful accessory, such as a winch, a basket. a leaf blower, a well puller, or even a motorbike, to the motor vehicle.
It is known to attach an electrically powered cable winch to the front of a motor vehicle, such as a pickup truck. To do so, the vehicle must usually be modified to accommodate the winch and, once it is mounted, the winch is normally left in place on the vehicle. Once mounted, the winch cannot be used elsewhere, on another vehicle or in a stationary configuration for example. Also, while on the front of the vehicle, the winch is exposed to the elements and subject to damage should the front of the vehicle come in contact with any other object.
Cable winches come in all different sizes. A winch with a significant capacity is relatively heavy and is usually mounted on a heavy duty vehicle such as a three quarter ton or larger truck. A typical winch of this type is the 16.5 Warn winch which has a 16,500 pound capacity. This winch weighs approximately 140 pound and, for this reason alone, is difficult to install on, and remove from, a motor vehicle as a single unit.
When operated in the northern part of the United States, heavy duty pickup trucks are often used for plowing snow. To do so, a winch (if mounted in front) must be removed and a snow plow attached. Snow plows are normally attached to the vehicle frame with a three-point hitch, having two plow mounting receptacles below the front bumper in front of the two front wheels and one central hydraulic mount for lifting the plow. The so-called “Fisher Minute Mount” plow frame has become standard for this purpose. The lower points of attachment, which are quick-release, are permanently installed and available for use whenever the plow is removed.
Many heavy duty four wheel drive vehicles, such as the Ford 250 and 350 pickups, have U-shaped “D-Rings” extending forward on the front of the vehicle to permit attachment of a cable or chain. These rings are bolted to the frame through an opening in the bumper or grille.
The prior art is replete with devices to facilitate attachment of an accessory to a motor vehicle. For example, it is known to provide removable devices having a single connection bar of square cross section for insertion in a mounting sleeve attached to the vehicle frame. These devices provide a planar platform for mounting a winch or any other similar accessory. Examples are the “Mile Marker Cradle Winch Mount”, available from www.truckspring.com, and the detachable winch mounting system available from the Ningbo Lift Winch Manufacture, Co., Ltd., in China. In use, the winch must be bolted to the platform, requiring time, effort and special tools. Once bolted, the mounting platform can be attached to and removed from the vehicle relatively quickly. However, the platform with the winch is extremely heavy and requires two persons to mount on the vehicle.
The U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,204,701 and 4,204,702, both to Oltrogge, disclose a “universal quick detach accessory mount” for motor vehicles having means for connecting a tow hitch to two points on the vehicle bumper or frame. Similarly, the U.S. patent publication No. US 2005/0104325 discloses a motor vehicle “tow hook assembly” which provides for connection to two points on the front of a vehicle.
All of these prior art systems connect a vehicle accessory to only one, or at most two, mounting points on the vehicle. Such mounting systems are not sufficiently robust and rigid to withstand the forces that occur when traversing rough terrain with a heavy vehicle accessory and which can be applied in the case of an electric cable winch.